"THE WAIHI STRIKE—IS THERE A WAY OUT?"

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 215, 7 September 1912, Page 10

"THE WAIHI STRIKE— IS THERE A WAY OUT?"

(To the Editor.) Sir, —During the last three months quite a lot has been said for and against the strike. Now I think the time is opportune when we ought to ask ourselves is there a way out? I maintain that the Wa.ihi Company has no legal or moral right to force a body of men against, their will into the Arbitration Court. The law of New Zealand cays that any union or unions wishing to withdraw' from the Arbitration Court may do so, if a ballot is taken amd the ■majority satisfies the Registrar-General. Such a ballot was taken at Waihi, and their •cancellation gazetted. The law also says that any union may register under the Trades Union Act and have a legal standing dn th« Dominion. No employer has a moral or legal right to enforce on a. body of men conditions contrary to 'the law. Moreover, a working man ha* a£ much right to say at what price his labour power should be sold at as the farmer has to say at what price ■he shall sell his wheat. The two largest companies in Xiew Zealand, the Union Shipping Company and the Westport Coal Company, aro of more importance to the people of th.is country than the goM mines, and we find. tha.t -the above companies had no difficulty in fixing up agreements with t.ho .Kwlera'tion of Labour. The Westpori. Goal Company has an output of about 2000 tons per day, and never has the coal industry been more prosperous t*an it the present time. The industry has not. diminished since th« miners left the Arbitration Court. With regard to the proposal for a secret, ballot, we have a I clause in our rules which says that any one member rosy demand a secret ballot on any question. They don't even require a Seconder, *o you will see we are not afraid of a ballot being taken at any union meeting. With regard to the engine driver*. Have they a right to a separate union? When the enginedrivers decided to form a. separate, union they were under an agreement with the Federation of Labour, which did not expire till June, and in my opinion they had no right to ignore this agreement. But now the time of the old agreement has expired, I should say if ,i ballot of the enginedrivers • were taken, and a majority was in favour of a separate union, they would be justified in forming one. and would not be breaking the rules of tire Federation of La-bour. On the West Coast of the Soutih Island we have the engine, drivers m a union separate from the miners. I will take DenTjis.ton am a case in point. There they have an (Engine Drivers" I Union. It was not formed out of any hostility towards the miners; it was formed''because certain resrulatiows applied to the engine drivers which did not apply to the coal miners, so they thought they would be hotter in a separate union. ' For seven years I worked at that mine, and the greatest friendship existed between the two unions. Both those umiions are loyal eirpportors of the Federation to-day. ' I would like to say here that the miners withdrew from Hie Arbitration Court some time before the engine drivers did, and during the time they were under the Arbitration Act. and the miner* were not the same Criendf>hap existed a? exists to-day. And 1 cannot understand why the same harmony should not exist, in Wa-ihi as in other parts of the country. I would sng2f*t as a. way out that Mr. Rhodes withdraw his unreasonable demand to force the miner* into the Arbitration Court against their wisTies. and till* engine drivers should take a ballot, amongst themselves whether they should form another union or not. If the above, suggestions were accepted, and a, conference, between the parties ■concerned held, a. settlement -would be arrived at within '24 hours. In corielusion, I think after over ten years' working with the miner* of New Zenland I am speaking the sentiments of O.i per rent, of the miners whmi I say under no eiTciHn!»ta.nTOS will we be forced und> _ r

the juriediotaon of tho Arbitration Court s.eainst fthe wishes of the majority.— I am, eta, J. BISHOP, Kamo.